Moto News Wrap
by Darren Smart – July 14, 2015
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Australasian News
Kiwi MXoN Team Announced: Cody Cooper, Ben Townley and Kayne Lamont will represent New Zealand at the 2015 Motocross of Nations to be held at Ernee, France on the 26thand 27th of September.
Australia MXoN Team Speculation: So who should Australia send over to France for the 2015 MXoN? It isn’t that hard really, Todd Waters (MX1), Kirk Gibbs (MX3) and Dean Ferris (MX2) with Jake Moss as reserve in any class.
Price Replaces Coma: KTM Australia’s Toby Price has signed with the KTM Factory Red Bull Rally Racing Team to take on the World Motorcycle Rally Championships and the famous Dakar Rally for seasons 2016 and 2017. Price will fill the position left vacant by five-time Dakar winner and Rally legend Marc Coma, after the Spaniard announced his retirement recently.
Mark THIS on Your Calendar: For many years Toowoomba’s Echo Valley Motocross facility hosted the annual Mountain Man Motocross event and over the years the best motocrossers in Australia would turn up to add their name to the winners list that looks like this: 1975 – Garry Flood: 1976 – Peter Boyle: 1977/1982 – Stephen Gall: 1978/1979 – Pele Granquist: 1980 – Robert (Beetle) Bailey: 1981 – Anthony Gunter: 1983/1985 – Dave Armstrong: 1984/1988 – Jeff Leisk: 1986/1987 – Craig Dack: 1989 – Glen Bell: 1997 – Troy Carroll: 2015 – ????
Well, 2015 is the 40th anniversary of the original event so on the 7th and 8th of November the Toowoomba Motorcycle Club, Queensland Vintage Motocross Club and the Toowoomba Motocross Club will host the 2015 Mountain Man Motocross at Echo Valley and there will be $5,000 up for grabs for the winner of the Pro-class, while there is a plethora of support classes available for the club punter to have a crack at. Go to https://www.facebook.com/mountainmanmotocross for more information.
Ford Dale pulls the pin: After much soul searching Penrite Honda rider Ford Dale has decided to step away from racing to concentrate on his young family. The father of two young boys under the age of three was running 10th in the MX Nationals MX1 class but admits he has been struggling to find the form that both he and the team were expecting.
“The pressure on me mentally and physically to perform each week whilst providing for a young a family has taken its toll and I don’t feel I can do either job at 100 per cent. I am training hard and the team has given me everything I need, however I am just not coping with the pressure of performing where I need to be, and that is making it even harder.
Acknowledging his appreciation for the opportunity Konsky and the Penrite Honda team have given him Dale said he never envisaged stepping aside mid-season.
“This decision to step away has nothing to do with the team,” Dale continued. “It is easy for people to assume that. The Penrite Honda Team went above and beyond, in fact I would say the team is the best it’s been and our results aren’t doing it justice. I really need to thank them and the team sponsors, if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have been able to train at Carmichaels or even race.
“The phone didn’t ring at the end of last year, I didn’t finish the season in 2012 and since then have not finished a full year. I still believed I could race at the front and I called Yarrive and told him that, he took a chance and for that I am thankful. I certainly didn’t start this season thinking I would be stepping away in the middle of the championship,” Dale added.
Although Dale won’t be racing the remainder of the year he isn’t walking away from the sport altogether.
“I am not thinking about racing at the moment, my family needs my attention and I need to find a foundation I can build on,” Dale continued. “I will still be at the track, I will be working on R4D (Racing 4 Disabled) and I will work closely with Yarrive on some other projects. I cannot thank him and the team enough for having my back and giving me every opportunity. I am grateful to the team’s sponsors as well as everyone on the team, Blair, Steve, George, Wayne and Cameron. I also want to thank my mechanic Daniel for his continued support and effort, he has always been there.”
The Penrite Honda Team will confirm Ben Townley’s return to the official team in coming weeks, however they will not replace Dale for Shepparton. The team is also working on finalising its supercross lineup.
American News
RV Retires – Here is my take on the situation: When you look at a lot of RV’s off-bike mini bike photos he isn’t smiling and that sour look never left his face right through to the day he retired.
Sure, he loved the sport, we was a great ambassador and role model BUT there was always ‘something’ about RV that made you feel that he just wasn’t enjoying being a pro-motocrosser. In fact, he openly criticized people who said that he was ‘lucky to race a dirt bike for a living’.
Training was a grind for RV, he hated it and was outspoken about what it took to be a champion in his chosen profession and when you combine the pressure of being the families only bread-winner since he was a teenager AND the expectations placed on him by his sponsors you can’t blame him for quitting early.
Finally, as a favour to his most reliable sponsor, Ryan Villopoto will serve as a brand ambassador for Kawasaki in MXGP for the remainder of 2015. I have it on good authority that RV is a cool and relaxed guy away from racing so we just may get a smile from him over the coming months – either way, I have really enjoyed watching RV race and his epic battles with Ben Townley a few years ago still brings goose bumps so for what it is worth I wish him all the best in retirement.
Strang Back Racing: Josh Strang made his way to North Carolina last weekend to contest the Zoo City GP and despite poor starts and a dusty track the Aussie managed second place overall behind Jason Thomas.
Hahn Hurt: Over-rated American motocrosser Wil Hahn will miss Round 8 of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross at Millville on July 18 after injuring his ribs in a practice crash. The team is hoping he can return at Round 10 at Unadilla, but no timetable has been announced.
Josh Grant to Monster Energy Kawasaki: Grant comes to Monster Energy Kawasaki after having most recently ridden for the TwoTwo Motorsports Team, where he had his best-ever Monster Energy Supercross season, also aboard a Kawasaki KX450F.
“We feel that Josh is going to fit in very well with our team,” said Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Manager, Dan Fahie. “Josh is very familiar with the KX450F which fits well with the short time frame we have to get him up to speed for Millville on Saturday.”
“This is a great opportunity for me and I want to thank everyone at Monster Energy Kawasaki for the chance to race again this year,” said Grant. “I like the KX450F and I’m looking forward to getting the full support of the factory team behind me.”
AMA Motocross heads to Millville, Minnesota for the Spring Creek National this weekend.
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Euro News
Herlings OUT!: Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings announced on Twitter that he would miss round 12 of the FIM World Motocross Championship held in Latvia last weekend. The current MX2 points leader sustained a gruesome left pinkie finger injury at the MXGP of Sweden when he crashed on the start of the second moto.
Frossard in for RV: Following the recent announcement of Ryan Villopoto’s retirement, the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team has reached an agreement with Steven Frossard to complete the season alongside Tyla Rattray for the remainder of the 2015 MXGP season.
The Red Russian: Evgeny Bobryshev has signed an extension to his agreement with Team HRC and will remain on the factory Honda CRF450RW for the 2016 season. The new deal means that in 2016 the 28 year-old from Kondrovo, Russia, will enjoy his seventh season with Honda in motocross.
2016 MXGP Calendar: Here is the proposed 2016 FIM World Motocross Championship Calendar
- Rd1: Feb. 27 – Losail, Qatar
- Rd2: Mar. 20 – Johannesburg, South Africa
- Rd3: April 10 – Neuquen, Argentina
- Rd4:April 24 – TBA, Italy
- Rd5: May 1 – Valkenswaard, Holland
- Rd6: May 15 – Teutschenthal, Germany
- Rd7: May 22 – Matterly Basin, Great Britain
- Rd8: June 5 – St Jean d’Angely, France
- Rd9: June 12 – Lommel, Belgium
- Rd10: June 26 – Kegums, Latvia
- Rd11: July 3 – Uddevalla, Sweden
- Rd12: July 10 – TBA (Australia?)
- Rd13: July 24 – Loket, Czech Republic
- Rd14: Aug. 7 – Frauenfeld, Switzerland
- Rd15: Aug. 14 – Assen, Holland
- Rd16: Aug. 28 – TBA (Australia?)
- Rd 17: Sept. 4 – Leon, Mexico
- Rd18: Sept.11 – Glen Helen, USA
Sept. 25 – Motocross des Nations…Maggiora, Italy
Aussies Podium at Belgian round of WEC: Matthew Phillips finished his weekend at the Belgian round of the World Enduro Championship with 3-2 race results over the two days while Jemma Wilson has jumped to third in the Enduro Women Class after going 3-3 in Belgium. See the full report and results below.
Smarty’s Race Reports and Official Results from last Weekend
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FIM World Motocross Championship – Round 12 – Kegums, Latvia
MX1 Race Report
Glenn Coldenhoff hit a huge milestone in Kegums last weekend when he claimed his first two holeshots of the season and his first race win, which he combined with a second place finish for his first ever MXGP overall.
Glenn Coldenhoff: “The weekend started good and I was fast right away. I’ve always had a good feeling on this track and the ‘Nations went well last year and this GP also. Of course I was really happy with the first moto. I started the season with a bit of a struggle. The goal was top-10 in the beginning, and later-on move up to the top-five and this came a bit unexpectedly! Winning a GP is something different! I’m really happy and the team has worked hard…it is just great.”
Gautier Paulin was expected to do well here but in race one the Frenchman made life difficult for himself with a bad start, he said “I had a bad start in the first moto and by time I was up to the front Glenn and Kevin were gone, so I just stayed on an easy pace because the riders behind me were quite far too.” Another average start in race two had GP21 at a handicap again, nevertheless the Frenchman managed to surge his way up into third and in doing so set the fastest lap time of the weekend for his second point in the TAG HEUER Fastest Lap competition.
In race one it looked as though Romainn Febvre was down and out after being taken down at turn one. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Frenchman’s bike took forever to start, so he lost thirty seconds right off the bat but from there Febvre just put his head down and started peeling off laps as fast as he could. Despite being in traffic for the entire race, he set the fastest lap time and managed to finish in an impressive eighth. In addition to that remarkable effort, race two saw him take the lead on turn three and blitz everyone for his seventh race win and seventh consecutive podium finish of the season.
Romain Febvre: “I was maybe second or third on the straight but going into the turn somebody hit me and some of us crashed together. I lost some time restarting the bike and when I was looking at the pack going over one of the jumps I could see that they were really far! I knew it would be difficult to come back but I managed it to eighth. I was really happy with my riding but not with the result and I knew with a good start in the second moto I had the speed to lead and made it happen.”
It was a mixed day for Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MXGP’s Kevin Strijbos who illustrated the importance of a good start. The Kid got a great start in race one and chased his fellow Suzuki rider Glenn Coldenhoff home for second. Race two painted an entirely different picture for the Belgian as he had to fight his way through the pack to salvage sixth.
Total respect must be given to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli who managed to finish in the top five despite the suffering he is experiencing with his broken elbow. “The start is very important here and I knew I would be able to get a good start even from the outside gate positions. I was second at the start in the first race and finished fourth. I tried to see this in a different way because my contender for the title was in the back of the field. It was a positive race because we got some points, and for sure we didn’t expect this yesterday. The track was bumpier in the second moto and my start wasn’t quite as good as in the first. I was nine or ten at the start but I had a super first lap and I was already third at the end of it. Then I just tried to hold on and challenge Coldenhoff for second. This cost me a lot of energy but it was positive to finish the second race also in fourth place and I am pretty happy about that.”
Dean Ferris went 10-12 over the two motos: “I was really looking for more this weekend, especially after my strong results at the GP of Sweden. The first race was really one-lined, which made it hard to pass. I started ok but near the end of the moto I dropped some position. The second moto was kind of the same. I was sixth, but dropped to 10th. My speed was good but that didn’t translate into results this weekend.”
Todd Waters went 14-10 after a big crash on Saturday: “Crashing hard in my qualifying race on Saturday made this a tough GP for me. I got a great start, was sat in second behind Tommy Searle and then hit the ground. Not finishing the race gave me last pick for the start on Sunday, so I always knew it would be good to get strong starts. The first moto was going ok but then I dropped it with a few laps to go and dropped to 14th. The track was pretty slick. I gave my all in the second moto and felt good. 10th wasn’t the result I was looking for, but it’s hard to come back from a big qualifying crash.”
MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), 34:26.145; 2. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:05.257; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:45.698; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +1:00.847; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +1:08.496; 6. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:12.170; 7. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:18.466; 8. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +1:19.095; 9. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, Honda), +1:24.412; 10. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:27.896. 14. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna).
MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), 35:49.255; 2. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:02.389; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:03.218; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:24.352; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:31.334; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:42.152; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:44.601; 8. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:46.418; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:48.018; 10. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:49.190. 12. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna).
MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 47 points; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 40 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 38 p.; 4. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 37 p.; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 36 p.; 6. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 28 p.; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 28 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 26 p.; 9. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, HON), 22 p.; 10. Dean Ferris (AUS, HUS), 20 p. 12. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), 18p.
MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 457 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 416 p.; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 391 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 360 p.; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 345 p.; 6. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 291 p.; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 276 p.; 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 260 p.; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 243 p.; 10. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 242 p. 13. Dean Ferris (AUS, HUS), 184p.
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MX2 Race Report
This weekend was a testament to Max Anstie’s ability to ride sand. Anstie grew up racing in the renowned sand of The Netherlands and has always claimed he is one of the best sand riders in the world although he openly admitted that had Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings been on the line this weekend, it wouldn’t have been easy to achieve what he did, “Jeffrey is an amazing rider, he is not the world champion for nothing,” the Brit said.
Max Anstie: “A perfect weekend, winning the Qualifying race and both GP motos. I was confident from the word go, but I still had to make it happen. The start was really heavy in the first race after the rain last night, but I was soon fourth and just picked off the riders ahead of me one by one. As I waited for the start of the second race it went through my head that I had never gone 1-1 before, but I got the holeshot and was on my way. The whole team has worked hard for this win and it proves that we are headed in the right direction and looking for more wins before the season.”
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass had the fans booming this weekend as he led laps and put in two solid second place finishes for second overall. The hometown hero said “since I was small on my 85cc bike it was always my dream to stand on the podium at a grand prix in Latvia. My fans were so loud, I did feel the pressure but it was fun and I can’t thank everyone enough.”
Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s last minute replacement rider Harri Kullas was the dark horse and the surprise performer in MX2 this weekend. Nobody could wipe the smile off of the Finnish rider’s face when he landed on the podium for the first time in his career.
Tim Gajser crashed in a first corner pile-up in the opening moto then suffered a poor crash in the second moto to finish the day with disappointing 7-4 race finishes but is now within 46 points of Herlings championship lead.
MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), 35:51.424; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:07.869; 3. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), +0:13.274; 4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:14.611; 5. Harri Kullas (FIN, Husqvarna), +0:23.594; 6. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:29.166; 7. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:55.725; 8. Ben Watson (GBR, KTM), +0:57.750; 9. Roberts Justs (LAT, KTM), +0:58.728; 10. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:59.584
MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), 34:44.364; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:13.123; 3. Harri Kullas (FIN, Husqvarna), +0:21.819; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:24.819; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:28.107; 6. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:30.405; 7. Jens Getteman (BEL, Honda), +0:33.825; 8. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:36.567; 9. Thomas Covington (USA, Kawasaki), +0:44.559; 10. Julien Lieber (BEL, Yamaha), +0:47.071
MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Max Anstie (GBR, KAW), 50 points; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Harri Kullas (FIN, HUS), 36 p.; 4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 34 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 32 p.; 6. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), 30 p.; 7. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 28 p.; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 26 p.; 9. Ben Watson (GBR, KTM), 20 p.; 10. Thomas Covington (USA, KAW), 19 p.
MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 423 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 377 p.; 3. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 352 p.; 4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 351 p.; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 345 p.; 6. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 334 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, KAW), 312 p.; 8. Julien Lieber (BEL, YAM), 278 p.; 9. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 256 p.; 10. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 205 p.
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FIM Enduro World Championships – Round 6 – St Hubert, Belgium
E1 Report: In the E1 Class, defending champion Christophe Nambotin wrapped up his weekend with a 2-2 result and was overall second behind rival Eero Remes who for the first time this year went 1-1 over the two days of competition. Remes now has a seven point lead over Nambotin going into the final round scheduled for France over the weekend of October 3-4, 2015.
E2 Report: KTM Factory rider Antoine Meo was a winner on both Saturday and Sunday in Belgium and after this, the penultimate round, leads the class standings by 37-points with a further 50 up for grabs when the competition finishes in France at the beginning of October.
But it was also a dramatic weekend when on Saturday Meo’s strongest rival in the class, Husqvarna rider Pela Renet dislocated and lacerated his shoulder in the first Enduro test. Meo remarked after Saturday that he had been in a similar situation himself last season. “He started the enduro test before me and I knew when I arrived that he had hurt himself – thankfully not too seriously. I wish him well and hope he has a quick recovery.”
Meo admitted that not having his rival to compete against on Sunday meant that he took a more cautious approach. “Some of the tests were quite dangerous so I just decided to take a safe approach and not take any risks,” he said. As a new recruit for the KTM Factory Rally Team where he will in January contest the Dakar Rally it was in the French rider’s interests not to take unnecessary risks. E2 also saw the return of David Knight who rode for KTM UK and finished with a 5-5 race result.
E3 Report: In E3, KTM’s defending champion Matthew Phillips finished his weekend with a 3-2 race result but Husqvarna rider Mathias Bellino of France was the winner in Belgium and extended his points lead over the Aussie to 24 after going 1-1 over the two days of competition.
“It’s been a really perfect weekend for me, honestly I can’t fault it,” Said Bellino. “After having a slight injury to my wrist during the GP of Italy I wanted to come here and sort of redeem myself. I’ve said all year that if I’m able to win then I need to fight for it and from Friday’s super test I did exactly that. Securing the fastest time there put me in a confident mood for the entire weekend and I was able to build on that momentum and win both days. It was a tough race, especially the enduro test. It was difficult and you had to approach it differently. I pushed hard where I knew I could and then rode smart where I couldn’t and in the end it paid off. With a 24-point lead entering the final round in France, all I can say is that I’m excited for my home race!”
Round 6 – Day 1 Results
Enduro 1: 1. Eero Remes (TM) 1:11:25.18; 2. Christophe Nambotin (KTM) 1:12:27.44; 3. Daniel McCanney (Husqvarna) 1:12:38.57
Enduro 2: 1. Antoine Meo (KTM) 1:11:18.25; 2. Alex Salvini (Honda) 1:11:57.33; 3. Loic Larrieu (Sherco) 1:12:23.06; 4. Jaume Betriu (Husqvarna) 1:13:04.12… 8. Nicolas Deparrois (Husqvarna) 1:14:26.13… 19. Jerome Martiny (Husqvarna) 1:19:21.30
Enduro 3: 1. Mathias Bellino (Husqvarna) 1:11:49.30; 2. Matti Seistola (Sherco) 1:12:06.83; 3. Matthew Phillips (KTM) 1:12:11.15… 11. Dennis Schroeter (Husqvarna) 1:16:45.58… 14. Wim Vanderheyden (Husqvarna) 1:21:03.23
Round 6 – Day 2 Results
Enduro 1: 1. Eero Remes (TM) 56:20.35; 2. Christophe Nambotin (KTM) 56:34.18; 3. Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco) 57:11.61; 4. Daniel McCanney (Husqvarna) 57:12.18
Enduro 2: 1. Antoine Meo (KTM) 1:05:49.30; 2. Alex Salvini (Honda) 1:06:06.15; 3. Loic Larrieu (Sherco) 1:06:22.75; 4. Jaume Betriu (Husqvarna) 1:07:40.70… 12. Nicolas Deparrois (Husqvarna) 1:09:12.34… 18. Jerome Martiny (Husqvarna) 1:13:58.27
Enduro 3: 1. Mathias Bellino (Husqvarna) 1:05:59.90; 2. Matthew Phillips (KTM) 1:06:13.95; 3. Matti Seistola (Sherco) 1:06:18.68… 10. Dennis Schroeter (Husqvarna) 1:10:57.26… 13. Wim Vanderheyden (Husqvarna) 1:15:13.48
Championship Standings (After Round Six)
Enduro 1: 1. Eero Remes (TM) 221pts; 2. Christophe Nambotin (KTM) 214pts; 3. Daniel McCanney (Husqvarna) 157pts… 16. Christophe Robert (Husqvarna) 11pts
Enduro 2: 1. Antoine Meo (KTM) 228pts; 2. Alex Salvini (Honda) 191pts; 3. Pela Renet (Husqvarna) 175pts… 5. Jaume Betriu (Husqvarna) 137pts
Enduro 3: 1. Mathias Bellino (Husqvarna) 217pts; 2. Matthew Phillips (KTM) 193pts; 3. Matti Seistola (Sherco) 163pts… 9. Thomas Oldrati (Husqvarna) 91pts.
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Canadian Motocross Nationals – Round 5 – Gopher Dunes, Courtland
Matt Goerke and Kaven Benoit extended their MX1 and MX2 championship leads respectively with dominating performances at round six of the 2015 Canadian Motocross Championships held at the iconic Gopher Dunes facility last weekend.
Goerke put together two flawless rides to take the MX1 overall ahead of championship favourite Brett Metcalfe and local gun Tyler Medaglia while Benoit easily accounted for Yank import Jimmy Decotis and young Dylan Wright in the MX2 class.
MX1 Overall: 1. Matt Goerke 1-1. 2. Brett Metcalfe 2-2. 3. Tyler Medaglia 4-4. 4. Colton Facciotti 6-3. 5. Bobby Kiniry 5-6. 6. Teddy Maier 7-5 . 7. Cade Clason 8-7. 8. Hayden Halstead 11-8. 9. Shawn Robinson 15-9. 10. Kyle Regal 9-17.
MX1 Series Standings: 1. Matt Goerke – 267pts. 2. Brett Metcalfe – 249pts. 3. Colton Facciotti – 245pts. 4. Cole Thompson – 218pts. 5. Tyler Medaglia – 215pts. 6. Cade Clason – 192pts. 7. Bobby Kiniry – 190pts. 8. Teddy Maier – 170pts . 9. Kyle Keast – 157pts. 10. Dylan Schmoke – 136pts.
MX2 Overall: 1. Kaven Benoit 1-1. 2. Jimmy Decotis 2-2. 3. Dylan Wright 5-3. 4. Blake Savage 4-4. 5. Jeremy Medaglia 3-12. 6. Liam O’Farrell 8-6. 7. Brad Nauditt 15-5. 8. Weston Wrozyna 13-8. 9. Bobby Piazza 14-11. 10. Marcus Nilsen 11-14.
MX2 Series Standings: 1. Kaven Benoit – 277pts. 2. Jimmy Decotis – 248pts. 3. Jeremy Medaglia – 243pts. 4. Blake Savage – 190pts. 5. Dylan Wright – 183pts. 6. Shawn Maffenbeier – 182pts. 7. Morgan Burger – 181pts. 8. Brad Nauditt – 180pts. 9. Jesse Pettis – 133pts. 10. Seth Rarick – 130pts.
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Red Bull X-Fighters – Round 3 – Madrid
Never before in the history of Red Bull X-Fighters had an Freestyle Motocross rider managed to win the most coveted Madrid trophy three times in a row before Tom Pagès delivered a brilliant performance under excruciating pressure on Friday night.
In front of another sold-out crowd of 23,000 frenzied spectators, Pagès got his fifth career win in an unforgettable final over New Zealand’s Levi Sherwood. World Tour leader Clinton Moore finished third but still holds the overall lead just ahead of Pagès after three of five stops in the world’s most prestigious FMX tour.
Ignoring the conventional wisdom that no one could ever win the impossibly competitive Madrid stop three times in a row, Pagès crowned a dramatic night of FMX heroics with a magical run packed with gravity-defying jumps of up to 15 meters high and 30 meters in distance.
The Frenchman, who also won the 2013 World Tour, sent the appreciative Madrid crowd into ecstasy with a highlight-filled run that included four of the most difficult jumps known to man: the Volt, the Special Flip and his signature Alley-oop Flair and Bike Flip.
“It was an insane night but it feels really good,” said Pagès. “I was really stressed trying to make this three times in a row. This place is everything to me. I love to win here and I’ll be back next year with new tricks.”
Sherwood put up a great fight in the final, eager to get his second Madrid win and ninth career victory. He was the first rider to beat Moore this season in a thrilling semi-final but came up short against Pagès despite a strong performance and a spectacular Transfer Flip Superman.
Defending World Tour champion Josh Sheehan (AUS) was eliminated in the Quarter Finals after crashing at the end of his Double Back Flip while local hero Dany Torres (ESP) extended his record to 22 straight Red Bull X-Fighters starts but the two-time Madrid winner was eliminated in Round 1, falling victim to the vast improvement of the competition.
The fourth stop of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour is in Pretoria, South Africa on September 12 ahead of the grand finale on October 30 in the United Arab Emirates.
Madrid Results: 1. Tom Pagès (FRA), 2. Levi Sherwood (NZL), 3. Clinton Moore (AUS), 4. David Rinaldo (FRA), 5. Josh Sheehan (AUS), 6. Adam Jones (USA), 7. Taka Higashino (JPN), 8. Rob Adelberg (AUS), 9. Maikel Melero (ESP), 10. Javier Villegas (CHI), 11, Dany Torres (ESP), 12. Rémi Bizouard (FRA).
World Tour Standings: 1. Moore 200. 2. Pagès 180. 3. Sherwood 160. 4. Rinaldo 110. 5. Adelberg 90. 6. Torres 90. 7. Sheehan 90. 8. Jones 70. 9. Bizouard 65. 10. Villegas 45.
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Indy Mile
Brad Baker scored his first career victory on a Mile course on Saturday night, winning the coveted Indy Mile at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in thrilling fashion.
Baker, the 2013 Grand National Champion, used a last-lap pass to beat out two of the other brightest stars in AMA Pro Flat Track, Bryan Smith and Jared Mees. The pilot of the No. 6 Factory Harley-Davidson, has caught fire of late, winning two of the last three AMA Pro Flat Track main events, and his recent success has propelled him to fourth in the Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines point standings after seven rounds.
“All I can say is, what an amazing race,” said Baker. “Great job to Jared (Mees) for coming up from the back of the pack. I had a little bit of the high-low line going on during the entire race and I really used it to my advantage on the last couple laps. It was an excellent run and I knew I had that move down with three or four laps to go. We were playing mind games out there to get position to come off of turn four and I fought hard for it and got the win. I had an amazing motorcycle underneath me tonight.”
Baker was challenged by rivals Smith and Mees throughout the entire main event. The three finished .066 of a second within each other as they crossed the finish line.
GNC2
Nick Armstrong put his No. 44E Goeken Racing Suzuki on top of the podium at the Indy Mile for his second GNC2 win of 2015. Armstrong’s decision to ride the Suzuki came less than 24 hours before he took to the track in Indianapolis, as he originally intended on riding a Kawasaki.
“It feels awesome to get this win,” said Armstrong. “We worked all week trying to get the Kawasaki together but we had issues with it on the dyno last night, so we pulled out the old Suzuki, and thankfully she did me good tonight.”
Armstrong’s other victory this year came at the Sacramento Mile.
The victory by Armstrong win was enough to shake up the GNC2 point standings on its own, but the leader coming into Indianapolis, Davis Fisher, suffered a mechanical issue with his No. 67 Parkinson Brother Racing Kawasaki in the main event. The mishap forced Fisher to finish 15th the stronghold he had on the lead in the standings has suddenly shrunk to just six points over Armstrong (95-89).
Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines Indy Mile top five results
1. Brad Baker (Harley-Davidson)
2. Bryan Smith (Kawasaki)
3. Jared Mees (Harley-Davidson)
4. Mikey Martin (Kawasaki)
5. Johnny Lewis (Ducati)
Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines top five in points after Round 7
1. Jared Mees (113)
2. Bryan Smith (106
3. Sammy Halbert (100)
4. Brad Baker (99)
5. Kenny Coolbeth Jr. (90)
GNC2 Indy Mile top five results
1. Nick Armstrong (Suzuki)
2. Dan Bromley (Kawasaki)
3. Bronson Bauman (Harley-Davidson)
4. Ryan Wells (Kawasaki)
5. Jamison Minor (Kawasaki)
GNC2 top five in points after Round 7
1. Davis Fisher (95)
2. Nick Armstrong (89)
3. Jamison Minor (87)
4. Dan Bromley (84)
5. J.R. Addison (78)
